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One of the most prominent ruling houses in the history of Europe, the Hohenzollern Dynasty played a major role in the history of Germany from the late Middle Ages until the end of World War I. The first known ancestor of the family was Burchard I, who was count of Zollern in the 11th century. By the third and fourth generations after Burchard, two branches of the family had formed. One, the Zollern-Hohenberg, became extinct by 1486. The other, originally the counts of Nuremberg, survived into the 20th century. The Nuremberg branch was further divided about 1200 into the Franconian and Swabian lines.

The Franconian branch moved into prominence when Frederick VI (1371–1440) was appointed elector of Brandenburg in 1415 as Frederick I. This territory in the northeastern lowlands of Germany was the nucleus on which the kingdom of Prussia was built. It was in 1701 that Frederick III of Brandenburg was given the title “king in Prussia.” The title was changed to “king of Prussia” in 1772, when Frederick the Great obtained it (seeFrederick the Great). The Prussian kings retained their title as electors of Brandenburg until the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by Napoleon I in 1806 (seeGermany, “History”; Holy Roman Empire).

Subsequent rulers of Prussia were Frederick William II (ruled 1786–97), Frederick William III (ruled 1797–1840), Frederick William IV (ruled 1840–61), William I (ruled 1861–88), Frederick III (ruled 1888), and William II (ruled 1888–1918). During the reign of William I, Germany was united by the military might of Prussia, and the Franco-Prussian War was fought. Under William II (more commonly known as Kaiser Wilhelm II) Germany fought and lost World War I. William II abdicated in the last days of the war and went into exile in The Netherlands. This ended the German sovereignty of the Hohenzollerns. The Swabian branch of the family remained in power longer. Ferdinand became king of Romania in 1914, and his descendants ruled there until 1947.

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